Why a sculpture by Winston Churchill’s granddaughter is in trouble in Palm Beach

Jan Sjostrom @sjostromjan

Monday

Jul 23, 2018 at 12:01 AMJul 23, 2018 at 8:01 PM

Eve has been tempting Adam in The Society of the Four Arts’ Philip Hulitar Sculpture Garden since Edwina Sandys’ Eve’s Apple was installed in April. But just as eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge was a transgression, erecting a 14-foot-2-inch sculpture was a violation of town ordinances.

PHOTOS: See the statue here

The Four Arts failed to secure a building permit, didn’t get the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s approval to install a sculpture more than 6 feet tall on a landmarked property, and slipped up on asking the Town Council to approve a site plan, special exception and variance.

All outdoor sculptures require a building permit. Sculptures taller than 12 feet require a variance from the Town Council. The council also must approve a special exception and site plan because the Four Arts isn’t a single-family-home property.

"We’re absolutely saying ‘mea culpa,’" Four Arts President David Breneman said. "We failed to go through the right steps. Until we saw it in place, we didn’t realize how tall it would be."

The sculpture was installed April 14, less than a week before Nancy Mato, who was in charge of the sculpture garden, retired as vice president and curator after 32 years with the Four Arts.

The painted aluminum sculpture measures 11 feet 8, inches. But it came with a 2-foot-6-inch base, significantly larger than the base pictured in a photograph the Four Arts had received from Sandys, Breneman said.

The sculpture is on loan from the artist and is scheduled to be removed by June 1. The deal was arranged after Sandys, who is Winston Churchill’s granddaughter and a seasonal resident, co-curated a highly popular exhibition of Churchill’s paintings and other objects related to the late British statesman at the Four Arts last season.

Code Enforcement Officer John Moriarty inspected the sculpture April 27 after receiving a complaint from the Planning, Zoning and Building Department. In a May 11 letter to the Four Arts, Moriarty detailed the violations and gave the venerable cultural organization a deadline of May 24 to comply.

The Four Arts failed to comply or to appear at the Code Enforcement Board’s June 21 meeting. The Four Arts missed the meeting because of a scheduling mix-up, Breneman said.

At that meeting, Moriarty explained that a permit was needed "to make sure this thing doesn’t fall down in a high-wind event." The board gave the Four Arts until July 16 to comply and charged it a $150 fee for administrative costs.

On Wednesday, contractor Ken Lewis, who was representing the Four Arts, assured the Landmarks Preservation Commission that the organization was working to meet town requirements. The commission recommended approving the Four Arts’ requests.

Chairman Ted Cooney advised the Four Arts to develop a master plan for the sculpture garden to streamline the approval process. "As long as things are a reasonable height, I don’t think it’s this board’s job to approve or disapprove of art," he said. "It would eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy. If something is outside reasonable bounds, they can come to us."

On Thursday, Lewis updated the Code Enforcement Board. The board extended the deadline to Oct. 16 to give the Four Arts time to get through the approval process. If it fails to meet the deadline, it could be faced with a $250-a-day fine.

The organization is scheduled to appear before the Town Council on Aug. 15 and to return to the landmarks commission for its final approval on Aug. 20. After that, if all goes well, the Four Arts can apply for a building permit. The last step is to pass a town inspection.